Cantonese Pork Ribs

I will admit that my wife’s cousins make some really great Asian inspired pork ribs.  As I scanned my refrigerator and freezer for ideas, I immediately saw a slab of pork ribs. I don’t know about you, but when I see something like a rack of ribs, chicken breasts, or event a head of broccoli, I always question myself ‘What can I do with this?’.

Recently, I had the urge to make something Asian flavored, family style, and have some of my family over. After seeing the ribs, I immediately thought of Cantonese style pork ribs, served with egg rolls, Asian coleslaw, grilled chicken, fresh salad, and of course, some really good white rice.

Ingredients:

• Pork ribs (baby back, or spare); fat trimmed, and cut into 3-4″ sections
• 1/4 tbsp  sherry cooking wine
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• pinch of cracked black pepper
• 1/2 bunch of green onions, thinly sliced

Begin by finding your sharp knife, or if you are like me, get your cleaver out, and break down the ribs into 3-4 inch pieces. To a large bowl, add in the the remaining ingredients, excluding the green onions, and mix well. Add in the ribs, mix to coat, and let this marinate over night. If you do not have that time, marinate for at least 4 hours.

When you are ready to cook, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. To a large casserole dish, add the rib pieces , reserving the marinade, cover, and cook for 2 hours. Let cool.

In the meantime, to your sauce pan, add the reserved marinade, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, and set aside for later grilling.

Preheat your grill to a medium-high heat. Add the ribs, baste with the leftover marinade. Flip over and caramelize the other side. Baste again with the marinade, and build a nice caramelization. Remove from the grill, and plate up. Sprinkle with the sliced green onions.

Trust me on this one. These ribs are not only packed with extreme flavor, but they are so tender that the sounds around the table are pretty much orgasmic. Lots of ‘ummms, ahhs, and ohhhs’. I consider this a great thing.

Hope you enjoy.